TY - JOUR
T1 - Shifts in Male Reproductive Tactics over the Life Course in a Polygynandrous Mammal
AU - Silk, Joan B.
AU - Städele, Veronika
AU - Roberts, Eila K.
AU - Vigilant, Linda
AU - Strum, Shirley C.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank the Office of the President of the Republic of Kenya and the Kenya Wildlife Service for permission to conduct this field research. We thank Kate Abderholden, Megan Best, Megan Cole, Moira Donovan, Alexandra Duchesneau, Jessica Gunson, Molly McEntee, Sam Patterson, Laura Peña, Vance Reeds, and Leah Worthington for their contributions to data collection. We thank the staff of the Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project, particularly Jeremiah Lendira, James King'au, Joshua Lendira, and Frances Molo, for their help in the field; David Muiruri for invaluable assistance with logistics and data management; and the African Conservation Centre for assisting us with our work. Constructive comments from the ASU primate lab group, the Göttingen primate lab group, and several patient reviewers helped us improve the manuscript. This research was supported with funds to J.B.S. from Arizona State University, funds to V.S. and L.V. from the Max Planck Society, and by grants awarded to S.C.S. by the African Conservation Centre (2013–2017) and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS) (2011–2017). E.K.R. was the project field manager and supervised data collection in the field; J.B.S. conceptualized the project, wrote the first draft of the manuscript, and directed the Comparative Analysis of Baboon Sociality project from which the data were drawn; V.S. conducted the genetic analyses of paternity and did the statistical analyses; S.C.S. directed the long-term Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project and provided logistical support for the project; and L.V. supervised the genetic analyses conducted in her lab and provided funding for V.S. All authors reviewed the manuscript. The authors declare no competing interests.
Funding Information:
We thank the Office of the President of the Republic of Kenya and the Kenya Wildlife Service for permission to conduct this field research. We thank Kate Abderholden, Megan Best, Megan Cole, Moira Donovan, Alexandra Duchesneau, Jessica Gunson, Molly McEntee, Sam Patterson, Laura Peña, Vance Reeds, and Leah Worthington for their contributions to data collection. We thank the staff of the Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project, particularly Jeremiah Lendira, James King’au, Joshua Lendira, and Frances Molo, for their help in the field; David Muiruri for invaluable assistance with logistics and data management; and the African Conservation Centre for assisting us with our work. Constructive comments from the ASU primate lab group, the Göttingen primate lab group, and several patient reviewers helped us improve the manuscript. This research was supported with funds to J.B.S. from Arizona State University , funds to V.S. and L.V. from the Max Planck Society , and by grants awarded to S.C.S. by the African Conservation Centre (2013–2017) and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS) (2011–2017).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020
PY - 2020/5/4
Y1 - 2020/5/4
N2 - In polygynous and polygynandrous species, there is often intense male-male competition over access to females, high male reproductive skew, and more male investment in mating effort than parenting effort [1]. However, the benefits derived from mating effort and parenting effort may change over the course of males’ lives. In many mammalian species, there is a ∩-shaped relationship between age, condition, and resource holding power as middle-aged males that are in prime physical condition outcompete older males [2–8] and sire more infants [9–12]. Thus, males might derive more benefits from parenting effort than mating effort as they age and their competitive abilities decline [13]. Alternatively, older males may invest more effort in making themselves attractive to females as mates [14]. One way that older males might do so is by developing relationships with females and providing care for their offspring [14, 15]. Savannah baboons provide an excellent opportunity to test these hypotheses. They form stable multi-male, multi-female groups, and males compete for high ranking positions. In yellow and chacma baboons (Papio cynocephalus and P. ursinus), there is a ∩-shaped relationship between male age and dominance rank [12], and high rank enhances paternity success [12, 16]. Lactating female baboons form close ties (“primary associations” hereafter) with particular males [15–20], who support them and their infants in conflicts [15, 19] and buffer their infants from rough handling [20]. Females’ primary associates are often, but not always, the sires of their current infants [16, 20–22].
AB - In polygynous and polygynandrous species, there is often intense male-male competition over access to females, high male reproductive skew, and more male investment in mating effort than parenting effort [1]. However, the benefits derived from mating effort and parenting effort may change over the course of males’ lives. In many mammalian species, there is a ∩-shaped relationship between age, condition, and resource holding power as middle-aged males that are in prime physical condition outcompete older males [2–8] and sire more infants [9–12]. Thus, males might derive more benefits from parenting effort than mating effort as they age and their competitive abilities decline [13]. Alternatively, older males may invest more effort in making themselves attractive to females as mates [14]. One way that older males might do so is by developing relationships with females and providing care for their offspring [14, 15]. Savannah baboons provide an excellent opportunity to test these hypotheses. They form stable multi-male, multi-female groups, and males compete for high ranking positions. In yellow and chacma baboons (Papio cynocephalus and P. ursinus), there is a ∩-shaped relationship between male age and dominance rank [12], and high rank enhances paternity success [12, 16]. Lactating female baboons form close ties (“primary associations” hereafter) with particular males [15–20], who support them and their infants in conflicts [15, 19] and buffer their infants from rough handling [20]. Females’ primary associates are often, but not always, the sires of their current infants [16, 20–22].
KW - Papio anubis
KW - baboon
KW - male reproductive strategy
KW - mating effort
KW - parenting effort
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U2 - 10.1016/j.cub.2020.02.013
DO - 10.1016/j.cub.2020.02.013
M3 - Article
C2 - 32169209
AN - SCOPUS:85083836977
SN - 0960-9822
VL - 30
SP - 1716-1720.e3
JO - Current Biology
JF - Current Biology
IS - 9
ER -